Dry My Soul
by TheBluePiglet
Summary: Ziva jeopardizes her own safety attempting to save an innocent girl from a terrible fate; as a result they both go missing. Fortunately, Team Gibbs will stop at nothing to find the child and reclaim their lost agent. Tiva if you squint.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Dry My Soul**

**Rating: K+**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Pairing: Tiva if you squint.**

**Summary: Ziva jeopardizes her own safety attempting to spare an innocent girl from a terrible fate; as a result they both go missing. Fortunately, Team Gibbs will stop at nothing to find the child and reclaim their lost agent. Tiva if you squint.**

**A/N: Yes, the beginning of another Multi-chapter Fic. How about finishing the ones already published you ask? Well, I'm working on that too, I promise! Though, as some of you might have already noticed I finally decided to delete my story "_Save Me For A Day"_, so there's really only one unfinished piece left (with the exception of this one of course). I might re-write _SMFAD_ someday but for the time being I'm gonna focus on completing this new instalment (which I'm kinda stoked about) and my other project "_Disconnected"_. Yeah I know, about damn time, huh? Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please take a minute to leave feedback, it means a lot. Peace!**

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><p><strong>Dry My Soul<strong>

By: TheBluePiglet

For how long she's been running she doesn't know, but the frantic hammering of her racing pulse speaks for quite the while. Her breath, now coming in short gasps, jerks her entire body as she continues to make her way through the woods.

She's scared, borderline petrified, and it's getting increasingly difficult to keep the fear from evolving into full fledged panic, which would do her no good. Her chest feels as if on fire as she pushes herself to keep going, forcing tired legs to carry her onwards, muscles screaming for oxygen.

Quickly regaining her posture after nearly tripping over a log she hears a chilling laugh, another attempt to drain the girl from the little courage she's got left to depend on. She knows she is running for her life and she is determined not to go down without a fight. Not that she has much of a choice. What were the alternatives? To give up and let them have their ways with her? To surrender and fall prey to the hungry demons chasing her? No. She has too much left to do in her life, too many pages yet to fill.

Momentarily caught up in her inner resolve she fails to see the web of roots covering the terrain before her. The girl lets out a yelp of surprise as her shoe collides with something sticking up from the ground, causing her to fall handlessly onto the forest floor. Her skin shreds at the impact and she soon finds herself crying out in pain.

She stumbles to her knees in a desperate attempt to get back on her feet, only to have her legs give out when she fights to stand. The girl allows another scream to make its way up her throat, this time filled with agonising horror. This was it; they were going to kill her.

A cold hand smashes down on her scalp, grabbing her by the hair. She hisses furiously and thrashes around to escape his grip but to no avail. He smacks her across the face with enough force to send her scrambling to the ground. She's whimpering now, trying to crawl away, but there's no escaping his ruthless palms.

She's vaguely aware of two other figures watching her intently from shadows behind her attacker, panting and grinning like wolves. She's outnumbered.

"Get away from me!" Her word's doesn't ring as confident as intended. The supposed demand sounds more like a plea, and she realizes, it is. _I don't want do die. I don't want do die. I don't want do die._

The man straddles her, effectively pinning her down with his weight, and she wonders if his disgusting smirk is the last thing she will ever see. His eyes are wild, and in them she sees only death. When realization finally hits her she feels her lungs starting to crumble, and the air is suddenly too thick to breath. _I'm not getting out of this._

If life were to flash before her eyes now would probably be the time, but something unexpected interrupts. The firm words filling the night are spoken with such resolution it has her heart skip a beat and suddenly, she can breathe again.

"Step away from the girl, or I _will_ shoot."

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><p>"Offer still stands you know," Tony informed his guest for the evening once more, watching her adjust her scarf so it would cover the majority of her face. "It's freezing outside."<p>

Ziva forced down a sigh that threatened to erupt from her lips. She knew he only meant well, but this was getting increasingly ridiculous by the minute. "And sleep on your couch again? No thanks, I would prefer keeping my vertebrae intact."

"I'll take the couch." He insisted.

She raised an eyebrow. "Just like you did in Paris, hmm?"

"It's not my fault the Europeans are incapable of producing good furniture." Tony muttered in defence.

"Half your apartment is taken right from an IKEA catalogue, Tony."

"Technicalities," Tony continued, his face now morphing into a knowing grin. "I mean, it's not like you seemed to mind the company anyway."

"And I do not remember implying so, either."

He held her gaze for a curious moment before finally deciding to get back on the previous subject. They really did have to revisit _that_ at some point though. "But seriously, it looks like it's gonna rain."

She couldn't look more indifferent at the statement. "Guess I had better hurry then."

Traces of worry still etched his face as she grabbed her bag and reached for the door. She raised both hands in frustration. "For God's sake Tony, I will be fine!"

He smiled, a familiar spark suddenly present in his eyes. "I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't worry, now would I?" The sincere delivery of words sent her heartbeat racing. Why was it he always appeared to have this effect on her?

"I know," She admitted in another sigh. "But I am a big girl." Leaning slightly forward Ziva allowed her lips to briefly brush against his right cheek before turning to make an exit. "I will see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, tomorrow." Tony chuckled in agreement as he watched her leave, well aware he was no doubt blushing like a fool.

A few minutes later Ziva was ready to admit that Mother Nature really wasn't providing her with ideal walking conditions.

She pulled her jacket tighter as she pushed the staircase door open, immediately met with a strong gust of wind. It really was freezing, not that it made a difference. Ziva wouldn't spend another night on Tony's God forsaken couch if so forced at gunpoint. Sure, he _had _offered her his bed, but seeing how well those sleeping arrangements had worked out in the past she decided that a little air couldn't hurt. So she promptly stuck her hands into her pocket and hurried off.

She had made it halfway home when a noise to her right caught her attention. Alerted Ziva squinted into the wooded area next to the road, listening carefully.

An aggrieved cry sounded from behind the brushwood; a female, obviously in distress. Ziva didn't like the possibilities that came rushing to mind.

She dialed Tony's number, hitting call before placing the cell back in her pocket. She then unholstered her Sig from where it was safety tucked in by her waist and started to slowly make her way into the dim thicket.

Ziva rounded a tree, gun drawn, peering into the woods trying to further locate the source of the cry. There, another scream.

Ziva glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was pursuing her and crept up behind a giant stock. Once she became aware of the scene taking place behind the bark she had to act.

"Step away from the girl," She demanded, taking aim at the man still on top of the girl. He was weighing her down in between his legs, holding her arms in a firm grip behind her back thus immobilising her completely. "Or I _will_ shoot."

Startled by the outburst, the man turned to look at her. Alas, the momentarily shocked look left his features almost as fast as it appeared, only to be replaced with a fiendishly smile.

Ziva didn't waver. "I told you, step away from the–" Two bulky arms locking her neck from behind cut her off mid sentence.

Bending over she managed to escape the chokehold, sending her attacker flying forwards on his back. Then, out of the corner of her left eye she saw another figure darting out of the bushes. Unable to stop him in time the third man buried his fist in her temple in a merciless blow. Her head cracked against something sharp as she collided with the unforgiving ground. The air whooshed out of her as he placed a forceful kick to her abdomen, and then another.

Ziva's breath came in short gasps, jerking her chest with every shallow intake of air, as she fought the blackness threatening to consume her.

A firm grip by the throat dragged her from the mud into a sitting position, her scarf lost in the struggle. The clammy hand squeezing her cheeks together while lifting her head up sent shrills down her spine. A cold wind blowing across her exposed neck had her shivering as someone whispered in her ear.

"My, aren't you a pretty one? And feisty, too. I think we'll have to keep you as well."

Ziva's last thoughts went to the poor girl, still at the mercy of the monster of a man a few yards away from her, before her vision blurred and she slipped into total darkness.

TBC

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><p><strong>I have yet to finish writing this story so I'll keep updating as I progress, so if you like what you see you're more than welcome to tag along for the ride!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When first seeing Ziva's number registered on the caller ID the evening before, Tony was fast to assume she had experienced a change of mind about staying over. He therefore decided to let it ring a few times before answering, all to make his longed-for "I told you so" that much sweeter. When he finally picked up though, he wasn't met with the apologetic words of his partner he had hoped for but the rustling sound of fabric rubbing against her phone speaker. Annoyed that she seemed to have simply pocket-called him, Tony started shouting Ziva's name from his end of the non-conversation in an attempt to make her realize her mistake.

He had been on the brink of hanging up, having had no luck gaining her attention, when an odd noise sounding from his cell stopped him. After hearing it again Tony could positively conclude that it had been a scream that was the source of the sound. Suddenly on high alert he listened closely to try and comprehend what was going on, unconsciously making a move for the door.

Everything after that was all in a blur. He remembered hearing Ziva's voice echoing through his phone, screaming something about a girl, next thing he knew he had left the warmth of his home to pursue the impossible quest of guessing from where on the mile long radius between himself and Ziva's apartment she was calling.

Leave it to Ziva to have him run around like a maniac in the cold after dutifully playing hero the one night it was scheduled to rain that week. Well, pour actually, like _someone _had warned her about.

Tony also vaguely remembered making a desperate phone call to Gibbs that would leave his ego bruised for eternities to come. He had no idea his voice could reach that high a pitch.

"Yeah, I'll have the usual." Tony told the woman behind the counter at the coffee shop.

Having spent the whole night and most part of the morning examining the area from where Ziva's call had originated, Gibbs had ordered him to either take a nap or go get some caffeine in his system when arriving at the Navy Yard. Refusing sleep knowing that his partner was still missing, Tony had decided on the later, not finding it an entirely bad idea seeing how the urge to close his eyes was growing increasingly stronger by the minute.

Tony gave the barista a slight nod in gratitude as the smell steaming from the cup filled his nostrils, he could immediately feel his brain cells buzzing back to life as he took a mouthful of the hot liquid. After another two sips he turned to make an exit, returning to the main office feeling significantly more alert. He really did need that.

Now he just had to find Ziva, and until he had been successful in doing so rest wouldn't be an option. She was _so_ going to owe him for his coffee.

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><p>Finally finding enough strength to push the darkness aside Ziva drowsily pried her eyes open. Trying her best to block away the persistent pounding in her head she forced herself into a sitting position and made a quick assessment of the current situation.<p>

The poorly lit room she found herself in was in complete lack of windows, leaving her no chance trying to get any sense of time or space. All furniture had been removed save for two chairs leaned against the wall next to her accompanied by what looked like some sort of camera stand. The purpose behind the lonely props wasn't something Ziva would bother pondering right now though, she was positive there would be more than plenty of time for such things later. Besides, she already had a pretty good clue for what they were going to be used, and she was not a fan of the idea.

A jolt of pain hit her as she attempted to stand up – upper right side, at least two possibly cracked ribs. Putting of getting up for a moment Ziva allowed herself to lay back down and focused on taking small breaths, waiting out the lingering ache. Among the many things she hated about rib fractures the renal mobility was her least favourite one, the whole not-being-able-to-inhale-properly-without-it-hurting-like-hell thing posing as a close second.

Okay, correction; at least two _definitely _cracked ribs.

Annoyed with herself for allowing the men to catch her off guard in the woods, Ziva turned her head towards the other side of the room where she could hear someone whimpering.

As suspected the girl from earlier was lying on her back a few feet away from Ziva, arms crossed awkwardly over her chest. Her face looked pale in the faint light provided from a lone filament dangling from a cord above their heads, the only colours made out by her dark brows and various scratches covering her much too young skin.

Mindful of her injuries, Ziva slowly moved forward until she was crouched down next to the still form, pushing down a wave of nausea caused by the effort.

She gently cradled the girl's cheek in her hand and smoothed the hair away from her sweaty brow. The eyes hiding behind her tangled hair were racing wildly behind closed lids as a nightmare rocked the child, complete with random outbursts of incoherent words rolling from her lips in an agonizing mantra. When the girl started to visibly tremble and sob under her breath Ziva decided to wake her.

Since many years a victim of this sort of dreams herself, the agent placed two steady hands on each of the girl's shoulders and gave her a light shake.

"Easy now," She whispered softly, trying to avoid startling her. "Time to wake up."

Still a bit out of sorts, Ziva wasn't prepared for when the girl jerked herself upright fencing her arms in panic, her right elbow finding its target in the woman's already tender torso. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she had to recover for a few moments, cursing at the burning sensation jolting through her ribs as she once again tried to regain her breath, before returning her attention to its previous focus.

"Go away!" The girl cried, oblivious to her surroundings, voice heavy with tears. "Don't hurt me… please, just go away."

Whether it was her maternal instincts making a sudden appearance or own experiences that had her pleading so with the girl she didn't know, not that it really seemed important at the moment. Deciding that her protesting ribs would have to deal with it, Ziva cautiously reached her arms out and embraced the girl in a tight hug.

To Ziva's relief she didn't struggle against her touch. Instead she remained, both arms soon wrapped around the woman's waist, her hands desperately clutching the fabric of Ziva's jacket.

In the same fashion as her mother used to when she was younger, Ziva started to hum an old Hebrew lullaby stroking the back of the child's scalp gently. She could feel the small, tightly curled knuckles pressed to her back starting to relax little by little as she sang.

A good ten minutes later the sobbing finally subdued, a small voice taking its place. "You can let me go now."

Ziva obeyed, only to be rewarded with two dark blue eyes inspecting the blouse under her open jacket.

"Sorry for getting your shirt all wet."

Ziva smiled warmly as the girl settled on the floor in front of her. "Do not worry about it," She held out her hand, deciding that an introduction was in order. "My name is Ziva, and who might you be?"

The girl sniffled slightly before smiling back as she returned the gesture, folding her fingers around Ziva's palm, shaking it. "I'm Tanya, nice to meet you."

"Tanya, what a beautiful name!" Ziva gushed, trying to keep the conversation as casual as she could given the circumstances. "Russian, no?"

The girl lit up at the mention of her homeland. "Yes, how'd you know?"

"I can tell by your accent," Ziva kindly informed. "Your English is very good though."

"Papa says I already sound like an American, and we only moved here two years ago!" Tanya giggled, momentarily forgetting about where she was.

Ziva decided to take the opportunity to try and get some information out of the girl, maybe then she could bring some clarity to why Tanya had been targeted by the men in the first place. "That is very impressive Tanya. What does your father do for a living?"

"He owns an oil company back in Russia." Tanya answered dismissively. "Have you ever been there? It's reeeally cold in the winter."

"Yes I have actually," _On an assassination mission to track down and terminate a Russian weapons dealer_, Ziva finished in her mind. "On an, ah… on vacation."

"Cool! So, where _you_ from Ziva?"

She had to laugh at the girl's forward nature. "I was born in Israel."

"How old were you when you got here?" Tanya went on, curious.

"I was just about to turn twenty-one," Ziva said, remembering when she first was attached to NCIS as a liaison officer. "And that was almost eight years ago now." She added as an afterthought, amazed by the number herself. Had it really been that long?

"I'm turning thirteen soon." The twelve-year-old bragged, a conceited grin spreading on her lips.

"Oh, a big girl then," The agent played along. "I bet your father is really proud."

"He is," Tanya's face saddened a fraction at the statement. "He says I'm almost old enough to start training for taking over the company."

Sensing she was about to enter sensitive territory Ziva carefully pressed the girl for details, staying to what was necessary for her to figure out the reason behind Tanya's kidnapping. "What is your father's company called?"

"IvanOIL. It's named after papa, Aleksandr Ivanov."

"Can you remember if your father has been acting different lately, or has been in contact with any strange people?"

The girl pouted. "Can't we talk about something else?"

"It is very important that you tell me, Tanya." Ziva insisted.

"Why?"

She hated further confusing the already scared girl but she had to know. "I will explain everything later but right now I need you to trust me, do you think you can you do that?"

Before Tanya had a chance to answer the sound of footsteps outside the room caused Ziva to shush her. "Someone is coming."

TBC

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><p><strong>That's it for the second chapter. What're your thoughts on the story so far? Constructive criticism is very much welcome! :) <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Following the familiar 'ding' declaring the elevator's arrival, Forensic Scientist Abigail Sciuto didn't have to think twice about whose fast approaching steps was echoing through the corridor outside her lab. And had it not been for Tony and McGee's respective calls from upstairs only seconds prior, the man's natural fragrance consisting by caffeine mixed with the stoic base notes of wood and sawdust still would've given him away every time.

Not even bothering to turn around Abby greeted her visitor. "Hi Gibbs!"

"Tell me you've got something Abs." Came the gruff, slightly urged reply, confirming that it was indeed Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs who had now taken position behind her.

"That, I can," Abby announced excitedly, leaving no time to waste. "Okay, so Tony heard Ziva say something about a girl, right? Well, I had a friend from the local P.D. check for reports on missing girls consistent with what we could establish from our findings in the woods," She began, taking a brief pause to hit a few of the seemingly endless sea of buttons covering her double set of keyboards. "And voilà, meet Tanya Ivanov. She's the twelve-year-old only daughter of Aleksandr Ivanov, big time millionaire and owner of a Russian multimillion dollar oil company named IvanOIL Inc."

Not actually expecting an answer the scientist threw a quick glance to her right, where her boss was now intently studying the young Russian that had appeared on one of the computer screens, before resuming her rant.

"She disappeared two days ago and hasn't been seen or heard from since, father claims she was taken from their home in Travilah, Maryland while he was attending a business meeting in DC. Nothing was reported missing – well, nothing except the daughter that is – both bodyguards had been knocked unconscious and the nanny was found locked inside a closet mostly unharmed."

"They were collecting leverage for blackmail." Gibbs concluded.

"My thought exactly." Abby chirped in agreement, but the content smile spreading on her lips became short-lasting, disappearing completely as realization finally hit her. "Gibbs, if the kidnappers intend to use the daughter to gain control over her family I don't see any reasons for them to keep Ziva alive, assuming they haven't already… you know. And I don't think I can… I-I mean, please just tell me she'll be okay, okay?"

Pressing a comforting kiss to the younger woman's temple Gibbs choose his words carefully, making sure he made a promise he knew he could keep. "We'll find her Abby."

And find Ziva he would, no matter how long it was going to take him, but for it to be before it was too late he could only pray.

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><p>"I told you to shut up, bitch!"<p>

The third slap left the world spinning and it took her a bit longer to regain her posture than it had the first two times. Fighting off the dark spots rimming her vision Ziva made a mental note to stop correcting her captor whenever pronouncing her name wrong.

She'd only just been introduced to the man, whose identity was still beyond her knowledge, but she could tell by the bulging vein visible beneath his ski mask that he was an individual of hot temper and low patience. He was also the owner of a thick, heavily accented voice, not in complete synch with his rather slim frame.

She supposed the two bulky lackeys behind him were meant to pose as compensation for the muscle their boss lacked where they stood positioned on each side of Mr. Bitch Slap, as her still foggy brain had decided to call him.

All men were armed but the testosterone oozing mountains were the only ones with their guns drawn, pointing them at Ziva and Tanya respectively. One of them was bearing Ziva's own Sig nicely tucked in behind his belt, much to her irritation. No one laid hands on her weapon, no matter how beefy or gorilla-like they might be.

"Now, Miss David – or should I say _Agent_?" The masked man began anew, intentionally mispronouncing her name while flashing her badge in a mocking manner. "I'd like for you to stay quiet while I have a word with young Tanya here."

Immediately overwhelmed with protectiveness over the girl Ziva lashed out towards the man on the left, the one who was approaching a very frightened looking Tanya. "You will not touch her!"

Senses still momentarily impaired from the recent head trauma, Ziva failed to notice the third man in the room, who had sprung into action. Yet another blow had her hit the floor with tremendous force and she couldn't prevent the pained cry finding its way up her throat as the man from the right straddled her.

"Ziva!" Tanya sobbed as lackey number one proceeded to grab her by the arm and drag her across the room towards the other side.

Ziva, desperate to offer the scared child some sort of solace, found herself unable to speak through the blinding pain originating from her side. And with the weight of a full grown man pressing down on her ribs she soon started feeling light-headed.

Content with Ziva being immobilized for the time being, the masked man turned his attention to Tanya.

The sniffling girl had been forced down a chair and confusion filled her eyes as a camera was propped up on a stand before her. She threw Ziva a worried glance, her confidence dropping even further at the woman's lack of movement.

The sudden touch of a hand gently squeezing her shoulder sent the girl stiff with fear.

"And now dear Tanya," The man in the mask said softly, as he turned her slightly where she was seated. She was now directly facing the dark lens. "You will do exactly as I say."

He turned to the subordinate who had taken stance behind the camera. "Abrov, did you get the paper?"

"Yeah, here." The man known as Abrov confirmed, handing over a freshly printed copy of USA Daily.

The masked man turned back to Tanya and asked, "You're a smart girl, are you not?"

The girl simply stared at him, eyes red-rimmed and wide.

"I think you are," He went on, not really caring for an answer. "And therefore I will give you a chance to get out of all this unharmed."

Her eyes followed as her captor gesticulated towards the camera, his deep voice disturbingly gentle.

"All you have to do is repeat what I say into the lens, and you'll be home with daddy in no time." He grasped her tightly around the jaw in such a sudden move even Abrov seemed a bit startled. "Are we clear?"

Struggling to find words Tanya nodded the affirmative.

"What's that, dear?" His grip tightened, she could feel his rough nails penetrate her pale skin. "I cannot seem to hear you."

"Y-yes!" Tanya stuttered.

"Such a good girl, daddy taught you well." He smiled behind the mask, his eyes glistering in anticipation. He threw a glance at the other side of the room. "Balk, status?"

"She's unconscious." The larger man reported in his mother tongue.

Russian being her first language as well, Tanya felt her heart sink. _I'm alone, again._

A few minutes later, Tanya was still sitting in the wooden chair, now holing up the newspaper for the camera to see.

Behind the stand Abrov pressed _REC, _but it wasn't until upon seeing the masked man's approving nod that the girl's trembling voice filled the silence.

"My name is Tanya Ivanov, daughter of Alexandr Ivanov, and here are my abductors' demands."

TBC

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><p><strong>So? Thoughts? You guys still interested? Please leave a review and let me know! :)<strong>


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